Story for the Fates
by Valori Kei
Summary: The Gods have aligned for this meeting, for this friendship, for this love. /Mythology AU, Gorgon/Medusa!Ivan and Blind Oracle!Alfred. Rating to change


Hope you all enjoy this new little story! it's set to have maybe 5 smallish chapters.

* * *

"Thank you, Oracle," his attendants bowed to him, not that Alfred could see them from where he sat cross-legged on his pillows and cushions. A guard ushered the hero out so he could begin his quest, and Alfred couldn't help but smile as he listened to the young man rehearse the lines of his prophecy, sounding eager and thoroughly excited.

With soft puffs of air that Alfred became so attuned to, the oracle blessed by the Gods above listened to his assistants blow out the burning incense and candles, the smoke still wafting through the air. He lifted his chin, turning his head slightly so he could listen better to the people walking around his temple, placing them mentally around the room so he could keep track of them.

"Are there any other matters I have planned for today?" Alfred asked softly, scrubbing at his eyes as the lingering visions dispersed, the darkness creeping back into his mind and blacking out the last bits of color that still sparkled around him. After every prophecy he received, the boy normally would fall straight into a coma-like sleep, unable to wake up until his body had thoroughly recovered. But today had been an unusual day, his senses seemed clearer and his mind sharper, everything on edge as if he had to stay alert… As if he were waiting for something important.

Judging from the sudden silence and lack of movement in the room, Alfred could tell his attendants thought something was amiss. "You're not tired, Oracle?" one asked in a timid and worried whisper, to which Alfred shook his head, the ornaments in his hair tinkling by his ears as he sat up a little straighter. He shifted his weight onto his knees and then stood up, his robes swishing around his thin frame to hang delicately around his small and boyish body.

"Nope! In fact, I feel fantastic! Can I go now?" the young child hummed, stretching and grunting as his sore muscles popped and cracked. The awkward silence that followed indicated the other temple workers weren't quite sure what to do or say in response to their oracle's question, the blind boy just doing as he pleased as he walked towards the steps, strutting in a way that had his feet scoping out the area in front of him before he settled his weight upon them, waiting for one of the other people to rush forward and help him like they always did.

Sure enough, someone hurried over and linked arms with him, Alfred leaning against them slightly to relax more. Letting himself be guided down the stairs, Alfred tugged at his headdress, the bells tinkling in his ears again as he pulled the fancy and intricately embroidered piece off. "I'm fine, I don't need help with this room," Alfred chuckled, knowing he'd be totally alright to navigate the remaining space after clearing the stairs. Shrugging out of their grasp, he moved off towards the doorway, feeling for the marble walls as people deftly moved out of his way. He couldn't help but smile a soft and unhappy smile, feeling that cold aura that lingered around him, his own personal space bubble that kept people away…

He was thankful for his life, sure. He knew he was greatly respected and a necessary member of their society, delivering the words of the gods and goddesses that reigned above, guiding the people who seemed even blinder than he was. Icy marble met his hand and he pressed some weight to it, moving forward as he led himself into the grand hallway, listening to the murmuring attendants as they debated following him in case he collapsed.

Just the thought of them rushing after him, with their flurry of hands and cacophony of voices made him cringe and snarl inwardly, fists clenching at his sides as he confidently marched through the spacious area. The echoes off the walls resonated in his ears as he strode with pride, head lifted high as his clouded eyes gazed off at the nothingness before him.

Counting the steps in his head, he made a sharp turn to the right, moving a little slower to find the wall and entryway before slipping into a more or less hidden portion of the temple, a place he knew and loved well.

The pitter patter of worried temple folk died away along with the busy noise of their whispered chatter, leaving Alfred peacefully alone in his darkened world of silence. His room was described to him as white and small, with a single window for fresh air and a large bed off to one side. The attendants always brought him clean clothes, so the only other piece of furniture was a woven tapestry rug Alfred insisted on keeping from when he had collapsed in one of the dining halls. When he had fallen, the rough wool had scratched against his cheek with its hand-woven designs, and Alfred simply came to love running his fingers over the patterns, charting them in his head and mapping their beautiful shapes.

But instead of moving towards his bed and his beloved tapestry, he moved towards his window, reaching out slowly and resting his hand on the smooth surface, leaning out towards the sweet-smelling garden that surrounded his beautiful temple. He knew nothing of what his home looked like, only having a general idea of where everything was and what everything felt like.

A breeze buffeted around his face and swirled into his hair, blowing around him and coaxing him outside into the cooling evening. He knew it was a sign from the heavens above that guided him and his people, and he knew in his heart that he must go wherever they led him.

It was time.

Hoisting himself up onto the ledge, he swung his leg around, scooting closer to the drop off before hesitating. He clutched as best as he could to the smooth walls, holding onto them tightly before he gently slid off.

Holding his breath, Alfred let his body crash to the bushes below his window, grunting when he landed on the sturdy plants. He could hear his robes snag but he didn't care too much, gingerly feeling around himself as he rolled off of the bushes, glad to be on solid ground once more. He dusted himself off and felt around for any injuries, smudging up only a small amount of blood from a cut on his leg.

"Eh, no biggie," he shrugged it off and suckled on his finger as the wind swirled around him, making his robes billow before pushing him in the right direction. Well, he hoped it was the right direction but he didn't really care too much, anything was better than staying cooped up in the temple all the time, always forced to tell other people what to do and where to go and about all the wonderful and amazing things they would get to experience.

He had to admit.

He hated his job.

Sure, he was always fed well and the temple always received many donations and praise for all the work they had done and all the heroes they had delivered, all of the wealth and riches they had accumulated for the kingdom, all of the glory they had earned through fantastic feats… But it wasn't a very satisfying life. The only time he could see was during visions, where he would be gripped suddenly by nightmares and seizures, forced to deliver a prophecy whenever the Gods deigned to give him one. The attendants meant well, and he knew they did… but regardless, Alfred couldn't stand being doted on all the time.

He wanted to go out on his own adventure! The heroes, they would live on through history and fables, but Alfred…

No one would ever remember him. He was a puppet of the Gods and the people, and he hated nothing else more than that. Shivering slightly, Alfred gasped when he tripped on an exposed root, stumbling and struggling to maintain his balance as he hopped on one foot. Wobbling, he managed to regain his footing and continue, the winds still strong and wild as they swirled more violently, threatening to throw him off-course again.

He kept moving, finding the edge of the temple wall that surrounded the large place of divine worship, Alfred fumbling around before locating the gate, his trusty winds blowing it open for him.

[-]

"Are we almost there?" Alfred groaned, trying to find something solid to cling to as his sandals sank into the muddy ground and dirtied his feet. He found a vine and gripped it, struggling to drag his way through the swamp, not caring about his dirty robes and his scraped up legs. The wind blew him a little harder, and then fizzled out, leaving him stranded in the middle of a bog without any solid ground to stand on. He waited for a moment, and when it dragged on into a minute, began to get frustrated. "Hey! Don't just leave me here! Where did you want me to go?! This isn't funny!"

His voice tapered off as a shivering cold settled into his bones, the wind whispering through the trees and into his ears, a rustling and a hissing not far off, and his keen ears soon picked up the leathery slide of reptile skin slithering towards him. No, it couldn't be-

His gods had not forsaken him, had they? Guided him out to the middle of nowhere only to be killed and eaten by snakes! This couldn't be happening! Hadn't he pleased them? Hadn't he done a fantastic job and delivered his prophecies well? Why this? Why would they do this to him?

He fell to his knees, mud splashing up onto his face as he grunted, trying to find maybe a branch or something he could use to at least try to protect himself, listening to the snakes coming closer, closer-

"Shhh, my little ones," a strange voice cooed, the hissing quieting down as if the snakes listened to the person who had whispered the order to them. Alfred lifted his head, doing his best to pinpoint the voice despite the hissing that continued softly in the background. "Who dares enter the Gorgon's territory? Speak quickly now, or I will have my pets rip out your throat."

"P-p-pets?" Alfred gulped, and the snakes hissed and rattled again, sounding much closer now as the blind teenager struggled to scramble away. He could hear footsteps now, another person dragging their way through the bog with a remarkable ease that Alfred couldn't help but envy. Taking a deep breath, he turned his face in the stranger's general direction, tilting his head and trying not to cry. "Forgive me, sir! I have lost my way! I did not realize I was trespassing!"

"Look at me," the stranger ordered, his voice strong and full of what must have been hatred, the tone frightening Alfred enough to quickly jerk and whip his head around desperately, not wanting to be hurt by the strange man and his strangely obedient snakes. Alfred held his hand close to his chest, gripping his robes and feeling for his talisman he always wore around his neck. "Open your eyes…"

"Sir, I cannot," Alfred apologized, trying to be polite as he straightened up, awkwardly stumbling away when he felt more than heard a snake's head brush against his arm. Shivering and shuddering uncontrollably, he held up his hands in a defensive manner, sweeping a foot behind himself slowly to see if it was safe to keep moving backwards. He chuckled weakly, color coming to his cheeks. "I mean, even if I did, it wouldn't really do anything-"

"Open them, foolish mortal!" the man snarled suddenly, his snakes hissing up a cacophony of noise, the sound of hundreds of them poised like an ethereal cloud of death around where the man's body must have been standing hardly two feet away from Alfred. Whimpering, Alfred let his eyelids slide open, that bizarre and useless sensation still strange to him as he glanced warily towards the man's location. Jerking his head this way and that as he struggled to place the location of the stranger in reference to where he was standing, he swallowed anxiously and held his breath nervously. Sudden silence felt like a wash of cold water, and for a moment Alfred wondered if that quiet was what death sounded like. "You're… blind?"

"Yes, sir, I- I don't know where I am or how I came to be here," Alfred explained, gulping and honestly hating himself for having to use his disability as a crutch. Why couldn't he just have been born an able-bodied hero, strong enough to cut down anyone who threatened him or stood in his way?! Snakes hissed around his head, and he felt one gently brush against his face, making him turn his cheek. The man didn't say anything for a moment, Alfred's anxiety only building in his gut.

"You're blind and so… You can't see me… Which means you won't-" the man cut off, his snakes hissing quietly, sounding almost as if they were cooing in a bizarre sense. Alfred tilted his head, turning his other cheek so his ear was more towards the stranger, trying to pick up on his subtle murmuring. "You. What is your name, mortal?"

"What's yours?" Alfred countered huffily, defensive at being regarded with such a sneer and snide tone, crossing his arms as the snakes' hissing momentarily increased as if they too were personally offended. The man shushed them contemplatively, and then gave in.

"Those who fear me call me gorgon, those who know me call me Ivan," the man replied, and Alfred's jaw went slack. He dropped his arms out of their crossed state, quickly holding his hands splayed out to barely protect himself.

"T-the gorgon? Oh, Gods, are you going to kill me?" he panicked instantly, suddenly realizing just what sort of predicament he was in. Well, that certainly explained the snakes… The gorgon chuckled, and Alfred cursed him for how incredibly amused he sounded.

"Not if you tell me your name, little one," he teased, and Alfred hoped the color on his cheeks wasn't red. He huffed again, slowly starting to relax as he straightened up tall and proud, staring hopefully right at Ivan's face.

"Alfred."

"Alfred, mm? Welcome to my home. Perhaps we can take this conversation somewhere more comfortable? It's not every day I'm able to do more with my guests than turn them to stone."

Slowly working up a coy smile, Alfred extended his hand slowly, shivering when the gorgon accepted it with his own and gently pulled Alfred closer, guiding the oracle into the cave entrance of his home.

* * *

Leave me a review if you liked it! c:


End file.
